Paris, 24 November 2026 — Cuba is actively participating in the 25th Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, a forum in which key issues related to the implementation and future sustainability of this important international instrument are being examined.
The Assembly is reviewing, among other matters, the report of the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee on the Committee’s activities, the election of new members of the Committee, the financial status of the World Heritage Fund and the financial sustainability of the Convention, as well as the ongoing reflection on the concept of authenticity in cultural heritage.
During the general debate, the Third Secretary of the Permanent Delegation of Cuba to UNESCO, Laura Alvarez Delgado, reiterated Cuba’s commitment to the protection and safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage and congratulated the Presidency of the Assembly and the newly elected members of the Committee.
During the various interventions, the Cuban delegation recognized the progress achieved in the implementation of the Convention, particularly regarding new inscriptions, conservation assessments, and efforts to strengthen the credibility and regional balance of the World Heritage List, as well as the work carried out by the Open-ended Working Group.
Cuba has also highlighted the importance of capacity-building, education, and international cooperation as pillars for preserving a shared universal heritage, while also underlining the national process currently underway to implement the new General Heritage Law.
The Cuban delegation recognizes the work of the World Heritage Centre in developing a specific strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and referred to the regional workshop held in Jamaica on heritage financing. It also highlighted the usefulness of a practical manual for risk management in the face of extreme weather phenomena affecting these States.
In its intervention, Cuba drew attention to the growing impacts of climate change on heritage sites, recalling the recent damage caused in the Caribbean by hurricanes intensified by warming waters, and insisted on the need to strengthen support for developing countries from the earliest stages of preparing tentative lists and to reinforce studies on sites affected by the triple environmental crisis.
The forum has also provided an opportunity to invite States Parties and experts present to participate in the II International Congress on Cultural Heritage, to be held in Havana from 20 to 22 May 2026.